


spoopy adventures in quarantine

by exasperatedmoron



Category: CrankGameplays - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF, Youtubers, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Developing Friendships, Ghost!Mark, Humor, No Romance, askjskjs it's really cute and funny though, no beta we die like mark, pure best buds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:46:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23697946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exasperatedmoron/pseuds/exasperatedmoron
Summary: Mika thinks Ethan's apartment is haunted.Ethan denies it.Until one day he can't.It'd be nice if the ghost would stop calling him a dumbass, though.
Relationships: Mark Fischbach & Ethan Nestor, Mika Midgett/Ethan Nestor
Comments: 38
Kudos: 278





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: what if you are quarantined and your house is haunted? what if you befriend your ghost?
> 
> bless my friends for this prompt in the middle of a parapsychology presentation

Ethan never believed in ghosts or ghouls or anything that did not make sense to him. He loved scary ghosts stories but never believed them. Mika, on the other hand, always insisted that they were real and that his apartment was haunted. 

The blue-haired man did not think too much into it and agreed to just spend more time at her place rather than his. He never felt anything ‘off’ or different about his apartment. The only thing that ever creeped him out was that a man was killed there a couple years back but it just made the rent more affordable. Nothing ever stood out.

But ever since the quarantine started, he started realising small things about his place. Like, when he’d go and get a glass of water at night, sometimes the lights would switch on on their own. Or, when his garage door malfunctioned when he was right underneath it, it stopped right about his head. Or, the one time he accidentally ate something with peanuts, when he fell to the ground he spotten an epipen under the couch and near his head even though he swore he always kept them in his bags or drawers.

Despite all the weird coincidences, he refused to consider ghosts. Ever. Mika would never let him hear the end of it if he even mentioned one of the incidents.

Well, at least he tried to. He doubted he would be able to hide what just happened to him.

There was no scientific explanation for what just happened. He was just trying to work on some cable management for his set up when he realised how unorganized they were and how some wires were torn and exposed. Out of the sudden, he felt himself get yanked backwards and thrown against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

He was terrified out of his mind, all his senses screaming at him to  _ run _ . Fuck the confinement, he’s running out of there to the nearest group of people he could see. Before he could even lift himself off the ground, his set up started sparking and within two seconds it caught fire.

His senses were on overdrive but he managed to get up and grab the fire extinguisher from the next room. Ethan was honestly petrified beyond belief and could barely wrap his head around what happened. The only thing he knew was that he had to stop the fucking fire in his recording studio.

When he ran back in, he was even more surprised to see that the fire was significantly smaller than it was earlier. It only took a few puffs of the extinguisher for the fire to be completely out. Still, he emptied most of the tank and unplugged everything from the sockets in case something started to spark again.

Ethan dropped the extinguisher beside him and fell backwards onto the carpeted floor, running his trembling hands down his face as he tried to catch his breath. His heart was beating so fast he was pretty sure it could pop out of his chest at any minute. After a few minutes of taking many deep breaths, he opened his eyes and sat up.

His set up was a mess and there was a cloud of foam right in front of him. The room smelt horrible and there was still some lingering smoke floating around. He could hear Spender barking from the ground floor. Ethan swore under his breath and made his way to the bathroom, making a mental note that he had to call his landlord and an electrician about it. And Mika. Definitely needed to call Mika.

But first, he had to calm the fuck down.

Without turning on the lights, he made his way to the sink and leaned down. He let the water run and splashed it on his face multiple times, again and again until the front of his shirt was drenched. The poor man turned off the tap but remained on his elbows and stared into the sink as he started to think out loud.

“A ghost. It’s definitely a fucking ghost. Fuck, what did Mika say about ghosts? Do I contact them? How does someone even do that... Can they talk? Do they even speak fucking English? Do I use an Ouija board? Fuck, I need to order one on Amazon. Would they even deliver it? It isn’t an essential item though… Would the UPS people ask about my order? What-”

_ ‘Or you could just look up, you fucking dimwit.’ _

Ethan would never admit the way he screamed as if his life depended on it (which, in his defense, he thought it did) and frantically switched on the light.

In front of him, in the mirror there was a man standing right behind him. He looked relatively normal with his tuff of black hair, dark brown eyes, normal looking set of clothes and even had pretty nice stubble. He was wearing a shirt with ‘cloak’ written on it and a pair of sweatpants. If Ethan was not in the middle of a heart attack, he’d probably say that the man was quite handsome. The only thing that stood out was that the man’s skin was ghostly pale and had a dark red and blue aura outlining him.

Ethan opened his mouth to say something but without words actually coming out, he ended up looking like a fish out of water. The… man/ghost/spirit behind him looked exasperated and crossed his arms.

_ “You know, most people thank those who save their life.” _

Ethan closed his eyes for 5 seconds and opened them again. Yeah, still there. He was not dreaming. Maybe he was hallucinating. He has been trying out a new kind of medication his therapist suggested to him. Visual hallucinations of a deep (yet soothing) voice that seemed to surround him seemed like a probable side effect of medication

Despite his inner ramblings, he managed to speak in coherent words.

“T.. Th.. Thank.”

Well, mostly coherent.

_ “Very eloquent. Listen man, I know you’re scared shitless and probably wondering what kinda drugs you’re on. But I’m gonna need you to not tell anyone about this. Maybe Mika, but yeah. Gotta keep it on the down low, dude.” _

Ethan’s eyes bulged out of their sockets and blinked a couple times as he let the information seek in. It all felt like a fever dream but the bruises on his back and the pain in his arm constantly reminded himself that it was real.

“You know Mika? Wait, why can’t I tell anyone? What is going on? Who are you? Why are you-”

_ “Jesus Christ, I knew you’d ramble. That’s fine. I get it. I’ll answer all your questions but I need you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone.” _

“And what if I don’t? Will you… kill me or something?”

_ “What? Hell no, man. I’ll just probably get weaker and for us ghouls, that’s pretty bad. Human’s version of getting permanently sick, I guess.” _

“... Okay. Okay, tell me-”

_ “You may want to clean that up.” _

“Huh?”

The man pointed to something on Ethan’s back. Ethan twisted his arm backwards and felt something wet. Great, he was bleeding.

_ “Hold on, stay there. I’ll be back. Remove your shirt, bunch it up and press it against your back.” _

Through the mirror, Ethan saw the man turn around and walk out the bathroom. Thing is, the door to the bathroom was within his peripheral vision but he did not see anyone walk out.

He felt the shivers again and it was not because he was shirtless.

Ethan looked at himself through the mirror and cringed. There was a bruise on his shoulder that started getting darker and his face was red from his constant rubbing. Even though he did not cry, his eyes were red-rimmed from the stress and his lips were very pale.

Overall, he looked like shit. 

The figure walked back in with Ethan’s first aid kit and a bottle of water. He set both items down on the edge of the bathtub and started rifling through the first aid kit.  _ ‘Drink the water. If you dehydrate and pass out or some shit, I swear I’ll draw a dick on your face and leave you here.’ _

Ethan literally did not know what was happening. Right as the ghoul took out a roll of cotton and alcohol from the kit, Ethan turned around to take the bottle. When he did, he saw the kit open with both the gauze and alcohol beside it. He quickly turned around to the mirror and saw that the man was still holding them in his hands, looking at Ethan with a confused look.

_ “Yes, Ethan?” _

“You’re holding those but… they’re over there?”

_ “Ah, yes. A ghost thing, I guess. Helps prevent us from being caught. Any object we pick up, it will still appear be in the same spot it was so that you don’t see like a cup of water floating mid-air. But when we set it down somewhere else, that will be it’s new location.” _

“What if I took something that was in your hands?”

_ “Then it’d pop out of mine.” _

“... Is that why my nintendo switch keeps disappearing and popping up all around the house?”

_ “I’m a goddamn ghost who can’t go anywhere. What else is there for me to do?” _

‘This is so weird,’ Ethan thought to himself and grabbed the bottle of water, chugging it down as the ghost tended to the wound on his back. The sensation felt so weird because even though the ghost is using objects that Ethan could feel if he held it, he could not feel anything touching his back. A weird sensation and tingling in the air, but not the gauze or the ghost’s hands.

Ethan heard the first aid kit click close causing him to turn around. He spotted the kit, closed on the bathtub and a bunch of bloody gauzes in the bin. Feeling tired, he turned back to the mirror and made eye contact with the ghoul.

_ “Tired?” _

“Extremely.”

_ “We can talk on the couch. I’ll go grab the mirror from your room.” _

Ethan nodded weakly and dropped his wet and bloody shirt in the bin as he made his way out of the bathroom, past the disaster in his recording studio, down the stairs and flopped into the short side of his L-shaped couch chest-first. Spencer came up and nudged Ethan’s hand which hung off the side of the couch, prompting Ethan to scratch his head. He was honestly quite tired but refused to fall asleep until he had a talk with the ghost.

_ Until he had a talk with the ghost _ .

Wow, quarantine really did make him crazy.

Ethan heard tapping and turned his head, watching the man tap the full body mirror and grinned when Ethan looked up. Like in the bathroom, he did not see a figure walk to the couch and sit at the edge, but he saw the man do it through the mirror. He tossed a shirt towards Ethan that landed right beside him. Through the mirror, he saw the shirt getting tossed towards him but in real life, he only saw the shirt popping up out of nowhere. Ethan put it on and laid back down on his chest, facing the man.

_ “So, questions?” _

“What is your name?”

_ “Mark.” _

Mark. So he  _ was _ the man who died in his apartment. Ethan remembered his agent telling him about it, but not about the details. All he remembered is that a young man died there and his name was Mark.

Spencer barked and trotted over to Mark, causing the older man to smile and ruffle the happy dog. Ethan was a little surprised, but at the same time he was not. If Spencer could see or tell Mark was there after all those years of living there, it made sense that he was not barking at the new presence.

“The mirror thing… How does that work?”

_ “That’s the only way you can see me. Through mirrors or any other reflective surfaces. But I can control how visible I want to be. I can go from invisible to translucent to opaque. But also, I can appear in the mirror or any reflective surfaces so it’s like we’re talking face to face. Would you prefer that?” _

“Nah, it’s fine. You look comfy on the couch. So, are you a ghost? Spirit? Demon? Angel?”

_ “Yes, yes, hell no and… well I’d argue I am because of my angelic nature but no. I don’t know exactly what I am… But I was human, like you, and when I died I… woke up like this. Felt weird to wake up and see your dead body on the ground but oh well, that’s life. Or death. It’s something.” _

“How- I mean, if you’re comfortable with sharing it. How did you… ya know…”

_ “Die? It’s fine, you can ask that. I’ve accepted it. Death comes for us all and all that. A few months before my death I had surgery. Unfortunately there were some complications that only started showing months later. My girlfriend was spending time with her family back in her home state when it happened so I was home alone. I don’t remember much details of what happened after falling on the ground in pain but I did ‘wake up’ later as a ghost.” _

Ethan felt a pang of sympathy for Mark. Seemed like a shitty way to go. Alone at home with his girlfriend miles away and then alone again for who knows how many years.

“Did it… hurt?”

_ “The dying part, not really. But it depends on the person, I guess. I guess the pain was so much that it numbed out and I don’t remember it anymore. Of course someone who passes in their sleep won’t feel anything and someone who gets crushed to death would be in excruciating pain. I’m just lucky mine was short and I passed out.” _

“So… You’re trapped here?”

_ “Kind of. Technically I can go anywhere. But the further I am from the place I died, the weaker I get. When Amy came home and ran out, I tried to follow her but after a few steps out I felt weak and like I said-” _

“It’s like us humans getting really really sick.”

_ “Precisely.” _

Ethan wanted to reach out to the man and pat him on the back but was not sure how or if it would even work. And quite frankly, he did not want to look in the mirror and see his arm  _ in _ Mark’s back if it went through. So he settled on giving the poor guy a sympathetic smile. Mark seemed to understand it and smiled back.

_ “Wow, this feels like a panal. I miss doing those.” _

“You did panels?”

_ “Yeah, I was a YouTuber too. I found it extremely ironic that the next person to move in after years of being alone was another YoutTuber. A gamer too.” _

“Wow. Is that why you never… killed me?”

_ “You watch too many fucking horror movies, man. And I can say that, because I actually know you do. Put on some comedy or drama every once in a while. And no, ghosts don’t kill. I mean they can’t, but ghosts are just… ex-humans. We don’t have a desire to kill. But we do have a desire to scare.” _

“A desire? How? Is it like bloodlust?”

_ “No. Boredom and horror movies. I started off trying to scare you. Succeeded a few times, actually. Even got Mika like, twice. But that was years ago.” _

“When I moved out to L.A.? What made you stop?”

_ “Cause you’re a fucking dimwit, that’s why.” _

Ethan spluttered out in disbelief, turning around to sit up and look at the man. Mark looked exhausted but also smirking. Sarcastic and a little shit. YouTuber indeed.

“Excuse me?!”

_ “I didn’t like being alone. I was glad to finally have someone here. I didn’t wanna scare you off by popping outta nowhere and yell out ‘HEY THERE!’. So I just did a few spooks here and there with the door closing and a breeze on your neck. But then you started doing dumb shit like leaving the gas on or leaving a knife on the couch and plopping down face first an hour later. Also, you had incredibly bad luck. You have no idea how many times I had to stop the old heater from exploding. Hell, you don’t know this but someone tried to break in before and they were armed. Your security system was broken and they would have gotten in if it weren’t for me.” _

Ethan’s eyebrows went up and he leaned back into the couch, staring up at the ceiling. “Holy shit.”

_ “Yeah, man. Basically I went from scaring you to trying to save your dumb ass because.... Well, I did not want my only friend to die. Which you would have. Many… many times. _

“Wow… I… Thank you, Mark.”

_ “That’s better. And you’re welcome.” _

Ethan nodded and the two fell into a comfortable silence. He could feel his eyes getting heavier and heavier, the events of the day starting to  _ really _ catch up with him.

_ “Tired?” _

“Very.”

_ “It’s fine. You need to rest. I’m not going anywhere.” _

Ethan hummed and closed his eyes, letting sleep slowly creep in.

_ “Ethan?” _

“Yes, Mark?”

_ “Are you going to move out now?” _

Ethan thought about it for less than a second and gave a lazy smile. “Nah. You’re a pretty cool dude. And having a ghoul buddy is pretty dope. I’ll stick around for a while. Plus, once you meet Mika properly, she’ll never let you go.”

_ “Can’t wait. Goodnight, Ethan.” _

Ethan drifted off to sleep feeling safe and secure.

  
Mika was absolutely  _ never _ going to let him hear the end of it.


	2. meeting meeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO POSTING THIS sorry for taking forever akskskskks

_ “What if she doesn’t like me?” _

“Mark.”

_ “What if she gets freaked out and runs away and never comes back?” _

“Mark.”

_ “What if she just thinks I'm weird or creepy or if she’s mad for the times I pranked her. Or what if she tries to make you move away or get rid or me? What if she doesn’t like what I’m wearing- oh my god maybe I should change? I don’t know how to change but maybe I can do it? I could throw on my hoodie- Oh my god what if she doesn’t like my fashion sense?” _

“Are you done or are you still having a non-existential crisis?”

Mark wallowed in despair, his voice unconsciously slipping into an eerie and ghouly tone that seemed to haunt the entire apartment rather than his usual deep and soothing voice. Spencer barked from wherever he was, reminding Ethan that his dog could see and interact with his friend.

“Spencer! C’mere boy!” Ethan giggled when he saw his little pup run in with his favorite chew toy in his mouth, dropping it as he curled around Ethan’s feet. He bent down and started ruffling his fur. “Hey there puppers! Mark’s a little bit stressed. Play with him!”

Spencer yipped and bounced on his feet, attacking Mark who was laid face down on the carpeted floor. Ethan watched through the large mirror he installed behind the television as Mark giggled and laughed at Spencer’s kisses and at how the dog was running and jumping all around him.

Ethan wished for the hundredth time since meeting Mark that he could take a picture of what he saw, but he had to settle with remembering the memory with a fond smile on his face.

The young man was broken out of his trance by the door opening and a familiar voice at the door. Ethan almost forgot he gave Mika a key and apparently so did Mark who somehow managed to look paler than he already was. It was almost comical.

_ “Nope. Nah, not today. See ya next time Etha-” _

“Sit your dead ass down, Mark.”

“Ethan? Babe, are you talking to someone?”

Ethan gave Mark a glare, as if telling him to stay in place. Usually it was Mark who would do something like that, with the amount of times Ethan nearly died or got seriously injured in his own home. But with the way Mark has been acting, Ethan decided to step up to today. Mark just stuck his tongue out with pettiness but stood rooted to the ground with Spencer in his lap.

“C’mere, Meeks. I’ve got something to tell you!”

Ethan took a small remote from his coffee table and clicked it. Black curtains slowly covered the mirror and made it look like there was just a window behind the television that was covered by the curtain. Ethan loved seeing Mark, but having a large mirror in front of him while he watches horror movies at night was less than ideal.

The two of them waited a few minutes as they listened to Mika wash her hands in the kitchen before coming over, since she was one of the smart ones who wanted to stay safe in the midst of the pandemic. Unlike some idiots out there, going to the protests or clubs. (Nudge nudge).

When she finally entered, Ethan grinned and made his way to her, greeting her before giving her a peck. As much as he loved spending time with Mark, things do get lonely and he really did miss Mika. They try to minimize how many times they visit each other and take precautions when they do, such as staying covered when they leave and taking their own cars rather than an Uber.

“Hey, babe. What was it you needed to tell me?”

Ethan guided her to the couch, squinting his eyes at the area Spencer was sitting with his wagging tail. He really hoped Mark was there, or else he was just squinting at nothing and that would be awkward.

“Ethan?”

“Yeah. Uh… So…”

Crap. Ethan absolutely did not think how he was going to girlfriend that she was right about his house being haunted, his ghost being his new friend and how a corner in his recording studio was a burnt mess. He scratched the back of his neck and looked down at his lap as he tried to think of a way to break the news without sounding crazy.

“Shit. I didn’t actually think about how I was going to tell you this?”

“Tell me what?”

Ethan’s eyes went wide and his head immediately went up at the way she said that. She looked worried and scared and clutched the pillow on her lap as if she was bracing for something.

“Oh my God, Meeks. No, wait. It isn’t bad news. It isn’t about us. I promise.”

Ethan reached out for her hands with his and completely turned his body to her, looking at her dead in the eye. “We’re good. I promise, we’re good.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, of course.”

He leaned forward to give her a kiss on her forehead, nose and lips, smiling when he felt her lips curling up. When he leaned back he looked a little bit sheepish. “Sorry. I really didn’t think this through. I just… didn’t know how to introduce you to my new friend.”

“New friend?”

_ “Me… Uh, he’s talking about me.” _

Mika jerked in her seat to look behind her, in the direction of the hallway where it sounded like the voice came from. Externally, Ethan looked relieved that Mark was helping him. And he was. But internally, Ethan really wished he thought this through.

“Oh! Well, I… I feel like there’s some kind of punchline or plot twist happening. You’ve introduced me to your friends before but… never like… this ???”

“Well… Mark is a special kind of friend.”

Both Mika and Mark were silent as they let Ethan process the way he phrased his sentence. When he realised it, he wondered how he ever got a girlfriend, let alone communicate and socialize with millions of people everyday.

_ “I’m not his side hoe, or sugar daddy or any of those. Just to let you know, incase Mr. Dumbass over there decides to dig himself into a deeper hole. I just… Look different from most people. So I’ll let Ethan explain that part before I come out.” _

Ethan thanked the heavens Mark had brain cells.

Really sad that between the two of them, the dead one had the functioning brain cell.

Figures.

“Ethan. Just… Tell me. I’m very confused and I can honestly feel the second hand embarrassment radiating off you. I’ll try to take the news as calmly as I can, depending on what it is. Is he like… a murderer or something? Oo, is he some celebrity that you’re secretly related to?”

Ethan gave an awkward laugh. “Ha! You’re close there… Kinda.”

“... Don’t tell me it’s the murderer part.”

Ethan heard Mark sigh from the hallway and felt like he deserved that.

“No. Look, remember when you said that my apartment was haunted?”

Mika’s face twisted into something of warriness and confusion, but still open and interested. “Yes?”

“Let’s say. Figuratively. Just, in a hypothetical scenario.  _ If _ you were right and it was haunted, but hypothetically my ghost was really nice, cool and totally friendly… when he isn’t being an ass. Hypothetically, how would you react? Again, just… uh… in a hypothetical scenario.”

He really bombed that one.

“Uh…” Mika’s eyebrows went up as she blinked a few times, letting Ethan’s words sink in. “Well, ‘hypothetically...’,” Mika said as she held up her fingers to quote ‘hypothetically’, “I’d say that’s pretty dope and would want to meet them.”

“For real?”

“Of course. I’d love to hypothetically meet your hypothetical friend. Any hypothetical friend of yours is a hypothetical friend of mine… If they treat you well and we get along, of course.”

“You’re making fun of me, aren’t you.”

Mika giggled and shook her head. “Yeah, I am. But I also think there’s a truth to what you said, so I would love to meet your friend no matter what form he is in.”

Ethan glanced over at the hallway, hoping Mark could see him. He relaxed slightly when he saw Spencer’s ears go up, probably because he sensed Mark entering the room.

_ “Hey, Mika.” _

Mika jolted again, since the voice was a lot closer than earlier. Instead, this time she smiled warmly and turned to the general area the voice came from, which was difficult since a quality of Mark’s voice was that it encompased the whole room. It was probably why he went to the hallway; to avoid spooking Mika.

“Hey there, ghost boy. Is there any way I could see you?”

Ethan let Mark take control of the situation. He waited a few seconds until he saw the curtains for the mirror moving and the remote control popping from the coffee table to Ethan’s lap. This time, both of them jolted. Ethan was still getting used to things popping up or disappearing around him.

When the curtains opened up, Ethan saw Mark standing in the middle of the room with Spencer curled up around his feet. There was no way she could think it was a joke, since the spot was in their peripheral vision, but he wasn’t. He glanced at Mika who looked wide eyed, but was not about to run away.

“Mika?”

“Wow. I mean… Wow. I mean, a big part of me thought this was going to be a joke or a prank but… Wow. You’re real.

_ “As real as a ghost can get.” _

Mika laughed and the two men in the room instantly relaxed. Ethan gave Mark a reassuring smile and nudged to the other end of the L-shape sofa, the spot Mark tends to claim as his own. The older man sat down at the side and smiled when Spencer jumped up to curl beside him.

“Wow. I see that my very own son likes someone else more than me.”

Mark laughed, his voice booming in the room. If Ethan was not so used to it, he would probably feel a little scared.  _ “Well, if it makes you feel better, you’re definitely his second favorite person.” _

“Oh? And how about Ethan?”

_ “Eh… somewhere on the list.” _

“Hey!” Ethan grabbed a pillow and threw it at Mark. In real life, the pillow just hit the air and popped on a spot on the couch. Through the mirror, it hit Mark square in the face.

_ “Hey! Respect your elders!” _

“Whatever, old man.”

The three settled into a comfortable silence. Mika grabbed the remote to turn the TV on and let Mark choose a movie. They sat beside each other with Mika leaning into Ethan’s side and Spender curled up on her lap. A few minutes into the movie, Mika spoke up.

“Hey, ghostie?”

_ “Yeah, human-ie?” _

“What’s your name?”

_ “Oh! Mark.” _

“Hi, hypothetical Mark. I’m Mika. Ethan has hypothetically told me so much about you. In a hypothetical scenario, of course.”

_ “Oh, yes. Hypothetically it’s great to meet you. If I ever hypothetically meet you, of course.” _

Ethan groaned and slid downwards, leaving half his body on the couch and the other half awkwardly on the floor. “Oh my  _ God _ , you guys! I panicked, leave me alone!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HOPE IT'S CUTE ENOUGH AKKSKSSK
> 
> drop me a yeet in the comments or @incorrectpeebois on tumblr!  
> (or feedback,,, id,,, really appreciate that <3)

**Author's Note:**

> (no idea how to link but say hi to be @incorrectpeebois on tumblr!)
> 
> i dont know if ill make this a multichapter thing or just a oneshot aksksks
> 
> tell me what you guys think in the comments below. give it a like if you liked it and subscribe for more-


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